i6i 



good yield of 200 lb. per acre, the amount produced would be 

 14,000,000 lb. This acreage cannot, however, be all in full bear- 

 ing till the end of 191 1, and they calculate that no more than this 

 acreage can be in bearing till 191 1, because it is not yet planted. 

 The exports from Para for the last three years have remained 

 practically constant at about 30,000 tons, and the world's pro- 

 duction was, in 1898, as nearly as it can be ascertained, about 

 60,000 tons, or 134,000,000 lb. The present production is estimated 

 at 70,000 tons, or 156,000,000 lb., of which Asia can only produce 

 14,000,000 up to the year 191 1, What she can produce after that 

 date will depend upon the area planted and successfully cultivated 

 between now and 191 1. — Standard, Dec. 6. 



PLANTING OF HARD AND SOFT WOODED 



PLANTS. 



By W. J. Thompson, F.R.H.S., Travelling Instructor. 



In travelling about the country I am surprised to find how few 

 people seem to remember that hard and soft wooded plants need 

 totally different treatment to enable them to develop properly. 

 People go on planting young cocoa and orange plants just as they 

 plant banana suckers, with the result that most hard wooded trees 

 are not giving more than half the crop they should. 



Two typical types of soft wooded plants are banana and cane ; 

 two typical types of hard wooded plants are cocoa and oranges. 



The soft wooded plants, which consist chiefly of water, need 

 to have their bases covered with a considerable amount of damp 

 soil if they are to continue thriving. On the other hand, hard 

 wooded plants, consisting chiefly of wood, need just the reverse 

 condition to get them to grow as they should, viz., the base of the 

 plant must be kept level with the surrounding ground, so that it 

 can get enough sun, light and air. 



It is most important that planters of all degrees should realize 

 the different requirements of the two different classes of plants. 

 In almost all cases where I am asked to inspect sickly plants and 

 trees of cocoa, &c., I find that most of the cases where the young 

 plants are not growing, or old plants are not fruiting, or dying 

 off, can be traced to the plants having been planted too deeply. I 

 have come across scores of cases where cocoa plants have had 

 their bases from 3 ins. to 12 ins. below the surface of the ground ; 

 and although when the bases of this class of plants are planted 

 too deeply, nature comes to the tree's assistance by young roots 

 being formed just below the surface of the ground, these surface 

 roots do not compensate for the loss of the natural upper roots of 

 the tree which have died off, or are in a half dead condition 

 through not getting enough light and air. With deep planting, 

 if the plant does not die after a few years, it does not give the 

 amount of fruit that a properly planted tree will do. Too much time 

 and care cannot be given to the planting of these hard wooded 

 plants to see that they are planted properly. 



